Hi
Trying to see why the Senate didn't see the connection of autism and thimerosal.
I looked at parents who did blame vaccines for harm and found they couldn't see the connection either.
Let me explain.
At birth the Hep B vaccine + mercury is given.
47 claimed deaths fair enough but only 663 claimed adverse reactions.
This means mothers missed more than 10 000 of their infants hit by either the vaccine or the mercury in it.
And by hit I mean hurt.
Why because at age 1 there were 37 claimed deaths from vaccines but a colossal 8 755 claimed adverse reactions to vaccines.
However you look at it parents happily get their offspring vaccinated and the lack of response from vaccine injured children is missed as untold suffering, harm and damage to them.
The children at ages from birth to 2 months can almost be killed by adverse events from vaccines and nobody blinks an eye.
The myth that vaccines are safe and the aggressivity of doctors to complaints of vaccine harm are clearly shown by an analysis of the figures.
If we look at data from age 4 when the child is communicating we would find not 10 000 but an estimated 30 000 infants at birth suffering from vaccine harm.
And if you take a 10 times under recording figure we miss 300 000 children suffering silently at just the age from birth to 1 month.
Everybody is missing vaccine harm except the children who suffer silently.
Nobody can believe mothers would knowingly miss harm to their children.
Nobody can imagine that Senate, Government and Chemical Industry would knowingly kill and maim millions of USA children but the fact of the matter is hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans are dying and millions suffering silently;
This is no error, no mistake this is catastrophe.
Congress Finds Nothing Underhanded About CDC's Thimerosal Work
A Senate committee commissioned 18 months ago to investigate whether federal agencies had cooked the books on their thimerosal research found no evidence to support these claims in a report it issued Friday.
Several members of Congress, spurred by groups like SafeMinds and the National Autism Association, have alleged that the Centers for Disease Control and other public health agencies covered up evidence that the measles vaccine and shots containing thimerosal, a preservative, caused what they described as a nationwide epidemic of autism and other diseases.
David Kirby's 2005 book Evidence of Harm, told from the perspective of SafeMinds and other parents of autistic children, alleged that the CDC and the Institute of Medicine had covered up secret documents and meetings where evidence of harm from thimerosal was discussed. This theory has spread widely on the Internet and has been picked up by celebrities, alternative medical practitioners and a few scientists involved in the thousands of legal claims filed by the parents of autistic children.
In response to the claims, in 2005 the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began an inquiry. It reviewed thousands of relevant documents and interviewed 80 witnesses to pursue the allegations, which included claims that the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee was compromised by CDC influence, that the CDC held a June 2000 conference to cover up evidence that thimerosal causes autism, and that the CDC investigation's lead author was pressured into changing his research position alleging a link to autism.
Each of these allegations was "not substantiated" by the investigation. While there were "injudicious remarks" by participants at the CDC-organized 2000 conference at the Simpsonwood resort in Georgia, "allegations of a coverup are not substantiated" because the CDC freely distributed all the data at the meeting and made the transcript available to the public. The 52 participants at the conference agreed that the dataset that initially suggested a link to neurological problems was too weak to rely upon.
Thomas Verstraeten, lead author of the initial CDC research, left CDC to work for a drug company in his native Belgium about a year after that conference, and conspiracists cited this as evidence of a tit-for-tat agreement to cover up evidence from the study. That isn't true, the committee found. Verstraeten's temporary job at CDC ended and he went home.
The report also concluded that the IOM's vaccine safety committee, which issued a 2004 report clearing thimerosal as a cause of autism, was acting independently of the CDC in making that judgment.
Nothing in the Senate report is news to those who have closely followed the subject. But groups who alleged a coverup had been counting upon Congress for a political stamp of approval.
Interestingly, the one allegation confirmed by the committee was that the Food and Drug Administration had "inappropriately" utilized Environmental Protection Agency guidelines regarding the toxicity of mercury in vaccines containing thimerosal.
The FDA's decision, during its 1999 risk assessment of thimerosal, to use the EPA guidelines -- which were stricter than its own at the time -- were a key element in unleashing the entire controversy. The risk assessment indicated that thimerosal levels in vaccines might be higher than EPA-established threshholds. But the EPA limits were based on studies of methyl mercury, a compound often found in sea animals that is similar but not identical to the ethyl mercury in thimerosal. The committee said that it understood the FDA had little data on which to make its assessment, but still described it as inappropriate.
The committee declined to comment directly on allegations that thimerosal causes autism. It said it would leave that up to the scientific community to decide. But its report appears to conclude Congress' pursuit of the CDC over this matter.
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Hi
Joseph
You mentioned that if autism proves to be due to mercury which I incidently believe, based on all the available evidence, (remember there will be multiple causes, so lets say 50 per cent of them) then there could be early mortality.
That is a very good point and theoretically cannot be faulted.
Karen Wetterhahn took five months to get any signs and then died after five more months. This is early mortality for sure.
People will behave differently as there are a 100 or more biochemical pathways but, yes, I would agree with you.
You have problems of diagnosis as we know not all cot deaths are put in death certificates as cot deaths. I know anecdotal cases of people told, yes, its SIDS and when they read the certificate its the flu or something.
We are talking of not just an epidemic but changing goalposts too.
Not everyone will have short mortality as the body has tremendous powers of recovery.
However in line with any statistics for autism which again are the source of bitter disputes we do need to look to see if people are dying early.
If you can't get exact figures for SIDS and autism et al you are adding uncertainty to uncertainty though.
I have seen cases of people with autism dying but never thought of it being of consequence.
I have an old French medical text where autism was not in the main body but got to an addendum as it had just been discovered. Interestingly it seems to say that the children have symptoms of the elderly but in a young body. I don't know if anyone would agree or disagree on this?
John Fryer
Yes, I disagree with that. If autism were deadly even some of the time, we would know about it. Instead, deaths associated with autism are either due to murders or accidents.
Hi joseph
What happens to children with autism is fraught. They can be cared for at huge expense often or put into homes, they do have accidents and do get murdered. The world isn't always friendly.
This business of autism can be sorted out but my world of developing computers, going to the moon and flying supersonic is already looking like the good old days to me.
What are the prospects now for the future in science and technology?
We don't understand autism and that is proably one of the easiest of the big problems facing us today.
Hi
Thousands of people dead from thimerosal where is the data?
The data comes from mortality figures.
Take for example the UK figures which used to show deaths at 3 and 6 months peaking.
This corresponds with the dates of mercury containing vaccines.
For the reason that people died at these times it was decided to vaccinate earlier. The result was that people no longer died at 3 and 6 months.
Now the peak deaths for infants moved to 2 and 4 months. Oddly that is when the mercury vaccines were now given.
We are talking of 2 000 infants a year dying in the UK in the 1980's.
The official reason and cause?
We do not know.
Were any mercury level tests done. No.
Not only were thousands dying but the toxic screening left out possibly the simplest test possible and the most toxic non radioactive element from the test.
How can we miss such a simple test for decades to prove or disprove mercury toxicity?
The other neurotoxic chemicals were of the class organophosphates and Angela Cannings got triple life for killing her children.
Apart from the mercury in her chld's vaccines she lived on the boundary of Porton Down Chemical Warfare Establishment in a little village (wise not to site it in the middle of a town or city.
Did this increase her exposure to brain nerve destroying agents and her family? Obviously.
John Emery looked at her case and advised her to move. She did. To prison.
You can take a horse to water...
John Fryer Chemist
Two points
Someone said there is a full commentary on this. Where?
Second no cover up. I would like therefore to see the data where Dr Verstraeten could not deny a link between autism and mercury.
This seems to have been covered up or am I mistaken on this?
It definitely says no cover up as ALL documents were made public; so show me.
John Fryer
Herald Blog
I am not sure who you are but its true I am or was an advanced analytical chemist and like you am on the case.
What's your background?
Whose interest do you represent?
I have banned or campaigned for one chemical nerve agent to be banned after 40 years of safe use.
Karen Wetterhahn was probably a better chemist than me but she died from an almost zero exposure to mercury.
The problem is that 1 000's have died from mercury in vaccines and if we don't admit its harm an error becomes a mistake and we repeat the catastrophic death to innocents.
In the UK the PSD (Pesticide Safety Directorate) had a limit on mercury for plants and animals of zero.
Mercury is more toxic than lead which took out the Romans.
Thimerosal takes out infants and adults with ease it KILLS them by the thousand.
Only a total ban on mercury will suit me.
Doesn't the injection of the world's deadliest non radioactive element and known brain destroying toxin do anything for you?
These infants never knew what what happened to them and when they died many like Sally clark got life terms for the harm done by the mercury vaccine.
How else do you explain the death of Harry Clark 6 hours after a mercury vaccine. Dead at 8 weeks.
John Fryer Advanced Analytical Chemist
1000s have died from thimerosal in vaccines? Whoa. Any data on that? Any data at all?
Let's see. If thimerosal kills children, and thimerosal causes autism, shouldn't autism have a discernable mortality rate (like real mercury poisoning does)?
The HELP Committee looked at the Simpsonwood transcript. I read it. I'm a parent of an autism spectrum adult. There's no cover up. There's nothing TO cover up. Kirby's book is full of false statements, and his premise is wrong. But then Kirby quite openly is a friend of the SAFE MINDS parents and for all his claims of being neutral his writing is exceedingly biased against the CDC and for the parents.
This is a case of a bunch of ambulance chasers spinning statements made by scientists into sounding like a vast international conspiracy to protect thimerosal manufacturers. It's absurd on the face of it, and more absurd the closer you look.
There never was an autism epidemic, so there was no epidemic to cover up, and as the Cedillo vaccine hearing showed, there's not a shred of evidence out there that autism COULD be caused by vaccines in ANY child. Kirby and SAFE MINDS, other mercury parent orgs and the law firms they work hand in glove with have helped to promote a sham, a scam, a fraud, a hoax, and an abuse against autistic people.
I wonder if Bobby Kennedy Jr. has had a talk with his uncle Ted about the findings of the HELP committee and if he agrees with it.
Hi concerned parent
You say Kirby is biased - I agree but if its proven to be true then that's not bias or is it?
You say he is for parents of autistic children. Who are you? You say you are one? What do you think is the cause of autism then?
You say they whoever they are are working with law firms.
Not autism and not mercury but often parents miss harm from even the first vaccine and then ignorant minds who think the worst of everyone but themselves then condemn the parents and seek to put them in prison for the harm they have done to their children - SBS or MSBP depending on which side of the pond you are.
Harry Clark did get mercury vaccines but not autism. He died and the law firm was to keep Sally out of prison. The law firms couldn't match the claim of 100 per cent vaccine safety and she got life. Oddly the family thought the vaccines were in the clear too. Duped like most of us at the time. A million it cost but that was a bill, not a hand out for vaccine harm.
John Fryer Chemist
The toxicity of a metal like mercury is the inherent quality of the mercury and cannot be changed. All forms of mercury are toxic.
A 1967 limit for mercury was ZERO not 0.01 per cent.
Mercury is a known destroyer of brain cells.
Mercury is a teratogen.
And diluting it doesn't make it into a food or safe vaccine additive and doesn't change its inherent quality of being toxic.
David Kirby's book includes 436 cited references to back his claims. I'm sure he would have made everyone of these available to the HELP committee if their true purpose was to get to the truth. Mercury in vaccines is added at a level 250 times higher than what the EPA classifies as hazardous waste. The type of mercury in vaccines is one of the most toxic and is was injected directly into newborns, infants and pregnant women. You can spin it anyway you want.
Hi
The lengthy investigation found that there was just one conspiratorial action and this was that the CDC used a figure for harm for that over exaggerated the harm of this wonderful chemical thimerosal.
Are they aware of basic chemistry?
The 'zero' level of mercury in vaccines is because the mercury there is good mercury?
Tell it to the fairies!
John Fryer who is a chemist
The safe level of mercury is ZERO
And not just any chemist - an advanced analytical chemist! Don't sell yourself short, John. You can still be right about other things.
From about.com-
The Committee addressed a total of seven allegations brought to its attention by family members of children with autism, as well as by medical researchers active in the autism community. Of the allegations made, two were substantiated, one was partially substantiated, and four were not substantiated by the evidence gathered. Senator Enzi is closing this investigation, while continuing to monitor developments on this issue.
At the press conference, journalist David Kirby and others continued to raise questions about apparent associations between vaccinations and autism. Kirby's questions made it clear that the findings, which were presented as clear and plain, were...muddy, convoluted, and somewhat inconclusive.
Meanwhile, journalist Dan Olmsted, who has been writing about autism for years, published a piece on the Generation Rescue website accusing the CDC of consistently blocking the possibility of a study comparing vaccinated to unvaccinated children. His take: "I hope more and more journalists will snap out of their hero-worship of the public health authorities and take a more critical approach to the most basic questions that their readers and viewers want answered."
And the allegations that were substantiated were these:
FDA applied the wrong standard for safe mercury exposure - the one it applied was TOO STRICT, not too lax.
The US supplies thimerosal-containing vaccines internationally - yes, because they save lives.
IOM could have done more to investigate conflicts of interest by the committee members - but there was a SPECIFIC finding that no conflict of interest affected the committee's conclusions.
Mdixon, you're confusing the press conference on this week's CDC study (which did not support the claim that vaccines cause autism) with the Enzi report (which also did not support the claim that vaccines cause autism). I know it's hard to keep it all straight when the evidence that you are wrong is pouring down all around you.
This whitewash makes these senators accomplices in this crime. Make sure you let them know this when you see them on the campaign trail. I guess it's easy to misinterpret e-mails from Simpsonwood attendee Dr. Tom Sarri when he writes "after recalculating the data, the associations simply will not go away". Or how about "little more can be gained by manipulating the data any further". To say that the Vaccine Safety Datalink is available to the public is preposterous. Even the attorneys in the Cedilla case could not get access to it. David Kirby provided these lying, lazy, corrupt buffoons with 436 references to improprieties that have taken place. All the work was done for them and this is what we the public get in return.
What the hell does Congress know? You're talking about a group of people who passed the Patriot Act before most of them even bothered to read it. Those who did read it voted against it. Even putting that aside, how many members of Congress have their campaigns funded by pharmaceutical companies? Pharmaceutical companies fund both republican and democratic campaigns heavily.
Senator Enzi's staff spent 18 months, logged thousands of hours, and you think they don't know the issue?
Oh, no, no, no. They came to a conclusion you don't like, so it MUST be they who are wrong.
O.K., but how do I know Senator Enzi and staff are objective? Are they being financed by corporate lobbyists or not?
Thimerisol causes great harm to people with some neurological weaknesses. It has caused me incredible pain lasting for several days. Spasticity. Acute depression. I know hundreds of people on the internet who have had this experience. We are not gathered together to fight thimerisol, but to compare notes on what harms us and what helps us. Thimerisol is one of our most harmful foes.
If it does that to us, what does it do to some others, especially susceptible children?
The fact is that medical researchers and drug companies do not care about the small percentage of people who ARE harmed by their products. We are expendable. Like a good many other people who are expendable for one reason or another.
"I know hundreds of people on the internet..."
The Internet is the answer to the hypochondriac's prayers.
In this case, ironically or not, I still think it's better to be safe than sorry--as in, taking out all mercury from vaccines.
It is *not* being safe rather than sorry to insinuate that vaccines were dangerous in the past. It encourages parents to be skeptical of today's vaccines. If immunization rates go down even modestly, outbreaks of totally preventable diseases may occur. I don't think people fully realize that.
Exactly. The answer to public health is not the promoting of phobias. The level of mercury in a thimerosal preserved vaccine is miniscule. If your body can't deal with that, then... you'd already be dead because we all are exposed to mercury every day (it's everywhere and in lots of food, not just tuna and tile-fish) and toxins are everywhere.
The dangers of some kinds of mercury at certain doses are well known. But not all mercury at all doses is toxic. No way.
One the average adults have 6 miiligrams of mercury in their bodies. A vaccine might have 25 of millionths of a gram (25 ucg or 25 micrograms).
No one needs to be in terror of that much ethyl mercury! No one! We do need to be in terror of vaccination rates dropping too low. We should be afraid of idiots attacking the vaccine program for fun and profit.
MY God.
How can these bastards be so absolutely stupid? It's not worth it. Make the vaccines supply based on shelf life, and stop taking a chance by using that horrible shit.
How much of a no-brainer is that?
How can they be so heartlessly stupid? Greed. Pharmaceutically induced- control minded greed.
Which vaccines still contain thimerosal? The flu shot (which I think maybe has non-thimerosal alternatives??) and which others?
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Posted September 30, 2007 | 08:02 PM (EST)